The Lawrence County Historical Woodland Cemetery Walk was a great success this year.

There was a large crowd present and about 30 people portrayed the characters. Each character being portrayed was from Lawrence County and was outstanding either in politics, their careers or as leaders.

A new group was present and added this year. They were Jim Epling and the 91st OVI re-enactment. We enjoyed having them.

John Campbell was the founder of our City of Ironton. Steve Jenkins portrayed him before.

Joe Unger was seen as Richard Lambert who was the first victim of the Civil War from our city.

Robert Cleary appeared as Dr. Joseph Lowry. This is an unsolved murder of Ironton. It appeared that he was murdered but it was never proven.

This was the sixth year for the evening cemetery walk that was started by myself and LuAnn Blagg in approximately 1994.

The scripts were written by Elaine Winkler and I. Due to illness it was postponed for a few years.

Now, as we did Saturday evening, it usually starts at 6 p.m. Debbie Rogers is the organizer of this walk. Before this year, Bob Price worked along with Debbie. There are many people working behind the scenes and we thank everyone who helped. Without them, we could not have so great a success.

It looks like apple butter time is near. We thank everyone for jars and kettles. It will soon be cooking.

The Christmas Tea will be Saturday, Nov. 14. Reservations are being taken now. You must have your reservation before the tea. The museum will be closed Oct. 18 to allow the staff to prepare the museum for the holiday season. It will reopen Nov. 1.

Dec. 13 is the date of the Christmas party for the workers, docents and officers.

Historical Facts:

Woodland Cemetery was purchased in February 1870 and dedicated in June 1871. The property was originally the “Old Judge Newton” farm, owned by Dr. Orin C. Newton. It was 59 acres and the cost was $10,000.

The cemetery was plotted by Engineer Grove. With about 15,000 citizens present, with the Union Cornet Brass Band, the citizens went by boat from Railroad Street to Coal Grove, then marched to the back entrance into the cemetery. In later years (1896) the entrance was changed to Lorain Street.

Many improvements have been made, including paved roads, new fences, enlarging and etc. This cemetery has been regarded as one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the state of Ohio. It has been called “Beautiful City of the Dead” and “Silent City Growing.”

(Taken from the booklet, “The History of Woodland Cemetery.)